Seinfeld to Go Solar on Further Lane

The comedian Jerry Seinfeld is planning to install powerful, state-of-the-art solar panel system to power his residential complex on Further Lane.
Hampton Pix

Jerry Seinfeld, creator of the long-running eponymous television sitcom, is going solar at his Further Lane estate in East Hampton.
The East Hampton Town Architectural Review Board gave the go-ahead for two 65-by-10-foot solar arrays on his property on May 10. The roughly 25-kilowatt system will be between the swimming pool, which is at the dune side of the oceanside property, and a Nature Conservancy preserve. Laurie Wiltshire of Land Planning Services, who represented Mr. Seinfeld before the board, said the installation “would not be visible to anyone.”
The panels, made by SunPower, are the most efficient on the market, harvesting 20 percent of the energy released by the sun’s rays, according to the company’s Web site. In this case, a company spokesman said, the panels would be able to provide more power than Mr. Seinfeld could possibly need.
Mr. Seinfeld bought the more than 10-acre site from Billy Joel in 2000 for a reported $32 million. It is divided into legally separate parcels and has a private ball field on one of them, just off Further Lane behind a sprawling residence with 24 rooms.
The solar installation required A.R.B. approval because although the land is residentially zoned, it carries an agricultural overlay. The project will also have to go before the zoning board of appeals, which considers such matters as setbacks from property lines.
Mr. Seinfeld’s ball field was built before the town, in 2005, passed what many call the Jerry Seinfeld law. The town had required that a “principal structure,” or residence, had to be on any lot where an owner wanted to put up a shed, a pool, tennis courts, or even a ball field. In changing the law, officials said it had been counter to the town’s goal of decreasing the density of development.
This allowed Mr. Seinfeld to go on playing baseball without the threat of any legal umpires calling him out.

About the Author

T.E. McMorrow began freelancing for The Star in 2009 before coming on staff full time at the end of 2011. He is a member of the Drama Desk in New York. His book, “The Nutcracker in Harlem,” illustrated by James Ransome, was published in the fall of 2017 by the children's division of HarperCollins.